Pranksters, Inc
by AliasCWN
Summary: Someone is pulling pranks and guess who is getting the blame.
1. Chapter 1

**Prankster, Inc.**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 1

The crowing of the rooster echoed down the hall, followed by another, and then another. Heads began to pop out of the rooms as sleepy men awoke to the sounds and peered out to see what was going on in the barracks. Half a dozen scrawny roosters strutted along the empty hall unbothered by the commotion they were causing.

Troy rolled over in his cot and pulled his pillow over his head. Still half asleep, he tried to convinced himself that he was dreaming or that the sounds were coming from outside.

"Who left those birds in here?"

The loud yell dispelled any hope of going back to sleep. Rolling over, Troy threw the covers off his legs and began to dress.

"It sounds as if there is some excitement out there." Moffitt's quiet voice came from the other cot in the room.

Troy peered through the early morning light in the room to see Moffitt still snuggled under his blankets. "Excitement? Sounds more like chaos to me," Troy growled. "A body can't get a decent night's sleep with all of this fuss going on."

There were sounds of running in the hall outside their door and they could hear the roosters squawking and flying into the walls.

"Oh for pete's sake!" Troy growled again. Pulling on his boots he grumbled under his breath as he tied the laces. Fully dressed, he headed for the door.

"Why don't you just try to go back to sleep and let them handle it?"

"I can't sleep through all of that noise."

"You've slept through worse."

Troy threw Moffitt a cranky look. "I was exhausted then, now I'm just tired.

"Then go back to sleep," Moffitt suggested again. "Maybe by the time you wake up again they will all be gone."

Troy listened to the squawking as he shook his head. "It's too late, I'm awake now. I wonder who turned those chickens loose in here in the first place?"

"It could have been almost anyone," Moffitt answered as he started to get dressed. "The barracks aren't locked, not even at night." He watched as Troy headed for the door.

As Troy swung the door open a squawking rooster ducked between his legs and darted into the room. The two soldiers chasing it had to slide to stop in time to avoid hitting the sergeant. The bird jumped into the air and glided into the wall on the other side of the room, missing the window by inches. Crashing to the floor it took refuge under Troy's bed. The soldiers chasing it tried to squeeze past Troy to follow it but the sergeant stopped them. Catching his balance, Troy put out a hand to tell them to stay out. The last thing he needed was for them to wreck the room chasing the frightened rooster. "Let it be."

"You don't care if there is a chicken in your room?" One of the soldiers asked in surprise.

"I'd rather have a chicken in here than a bunch of guys running around making a mess," Troy answered.

"We'll catch the bird and put it back outside." Moffitt's quiet assurance seemed to calm the excitement caused by the bird's arrival.

"Oh, okay," one of the soldiers stammered. Slapping his buddy on the arm he motioned toward the hallway. "Come on, there are more of them in the hall." His buddy nodded and followed him back into the hall. Troy slammed the door shut behind them.

"I told you to go back to sleep." Moffitt smiled at Troy's sour expression. "But no, you just had to open that door."

"Shut up and help me corner that bird," Troy growled.

Shaking his head Moffitt smiled and started toward Troy's bed. "I'm sure I can chase it out. Why don't you grab a blanket and throw over him when he comes out?"

It took a few minutes but by moving slowly the two sergeants were able to capture the frightened bird. Troy wrapped the blanket around him and held him against his body. Wrapped in the dark, the rooster quieted and allowed Troy to hold him.

"After all of this I vote we eat him," Troy growled.

"He's not ours to eat," Moffitt smiled. "Some Arab probably got up this morning and is now wondering where all of his birds went."

"Maybe he should have kept a better eye on them," Troy muttered.

Moffitt smiled again. "I'm sure he never expected them to infiltrate our barracks."

"Spies!" Troy gasped. "What do you suppose they heard? We may be obligated to eat them to keep them from passing along any sensitive information."

Moffitt laughed. "Are you over being sore?"

Troy sighed. "I'm not mad at the birds if that's what you're thinking. I'm sure they had help getting in here."

"No doubt," Moffitt agreed. "Unless they grew fingers they wouldn't have been able to open the doors."

"It's a conspiracy then," Troy nodded. "We're looking for more than one conspirator."

Moffitt wisely kept silent.

The rooster, as if sensing that he was being discussed, chose that moment to begin to struggle anew. Troy tightened his grip so the bird wouldn't get loose again. "Let's get this guy outside where he can find his way home. I want to see what a certain two privates know about his visit."

The British sergeant tried to hide his smile as he nodded in agreement.

The hall was still chaotic as the rest of the roosters were being cornered and captured. Nearly every door along the hall was open as men watched the action unfold.

"Ah, you caught one." An MP approached Troy and offered to take the bird. "We have an Arab outside claiming that all of his roosters have gone missing. Oddly enough, he seems to be missing the exact same number of birds that are currently running loose in this building."

"Huh!" Troy grunted as he handed the bird to the MP. "Does he have any idea who may have helped the birds get in here in the first place?"

"Afraid not Sergeant, but we'll be checking into that after we get all of these birds back to their rightful owner."

"Will I be getting my blanket back or are you going to hold it as evidence?"

"Can it help in our investigation?" the MP asked.

"No," Troy answered. "I just used it to catch the bird after it ran into our room. All it can do is keep the bird quiet until you get him outside."

"Do you know who brought the birds in here?"

"No," Troy answered. Moffitt shook his head. "We woke up to the sound of crowing just like everybody else."

"Okay Sergeant, I'll bring your blanket back as soon as I turn the bird over to its owner."

Troy nodded and leaned against the wall to wait. While he waited, he watched the other soldiers capture the last of the roosters.

"And so it's over." Moffitt's soft words were nearly lost in the noise as men returned to their rooms and doors slammed amid the grumbling of the occupants.

"Hopefully," Troy nodded. "But what if someone decides to get mad about it? What if they decide to get even?"

"Who are they going to get mad at? Get even with whom?" Moffitt asked. "No one knows who is responsible."

"Yet."

"What are you thinking?"

"That maybe we might know the perpetrators." A couple of soldiers walked by and Troy fell silent. He kept the rest of his thought to himself until the MP returned with his blanket. Thanking the MP Troy took his blanket back to his room and dropped it into the laundry. He was staring at the blanket when Moffitt followed him into the room.

"Troy?"

Troy jerked at the sound of Moffitt's voice behind him. "Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, just thinking. I think I'll shower and get breakfast before I talk to Hitch and Tully. I'd like to hear their reaction to our live alarm clocks this morning. If what I suspect is true, do you think you could talk the chickens' owner into not pressing charges? Tell him we'll make it up to him."

"I suppose so," Moffitt answered. "Do you want me to go talk to him now?"

"After breakfast is soon enough," Troy answered. "We'll give them the benefit of the doubt."

Tully and Hitch were already in the mess hall when Troy and Moffitt arrived. They were laughing when the sergeants arrived but sobered when they saw the look on Troy's face. No one spoke as the sergeants took seats across from the privates.

"Have you been here long?" Troy asked casually.

"A couple of minutes," Hitch answered warily. "Why?"

"Just curious," Troy answered. "I want to talk to you in our room after breakfast."

Both privates nodded.

"Did you happen to be in your room this morning for all of the excitement?"

"Yeah," Tully nodded. "They woke us up and we decided to come over for breakfast instead of trying to go back to sleep."

"That's pretty much what happened to us," Troy admitted.

"Except that Troy opened the door and let one of the little buggers into our room after we got dressed." Moffitt added.

"You did?" Hitch asked wide-eyed. "Why?"

"It wasn't exactly my idea," Troy growled after throwing the other sergeant a disgusted look. "I opened the door and it just came running into the room. The next thing I know its bouncing off the wall and hiding under my bed."

Tully and Hitch looked at each other and tried to hide their smiles.

"Hitch? Tully?"

"It's not still there is it Sarge? Cause Tully and I could go catch it for you." Hitch offered.

"No, it's not," Troy growled. "Moffitt and I caught it and some MP returned it to its owner."

"That's good," Hitch nodded. "I was hoping they'd all make it back home."

"You said an MP took it?" Tully asked. He gave Hitch a look that heightened Troy's suspicions.

"Yeah, the same MP who said he was going to be looking into the theft of the chickens," Troy confirmed.

"Theft?! But he got them all back!" Hitch yelped. He looked around guiltily to see if anyone had noticed his outburst. Lowering his voice he leaned in toward the sergeants. "No one got hurt and the old man got his chickens back."

"Hitch!" Troy growled as his suspicions were confirmed. He glanced around them and lowered his voice too. "We'll talk when we get back to our room, until then, keep quiet."

"All I'm saying Sarge is that it was a joke, no harm, no foul. No one got hurt by it."

"Actually, there were fowl involved," Moffitt corrected. "And they weren't yours, they belonged to a merchant who is just trying to scratch out a living by raising chickens."

Hitch blushed and looked at Tully before meeting Moffitt's eyes. "I'm sorry Doc, I guess I didn't think about that. We were going to take them back, honest. And if he doesn't get them all back, we'll pay him for them."

Troy looked at Moffitt and nodded. "We'll talk later," Troy repeated. "We won't discuss this until we're in the privacy of our room. And if the MPs show up, you might want to avoid them until Moffitt has a chance to talk to the merchant."


	2. Chapter 2

**Pranksters, Inc. **

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 2

"I'm serious about this Sergeant!"

"Yes sir," Troy answered.

"Yesterday it was green potatoes at lunch and today it was live chickens in the barracks. This has got to stop!"

"I understand sir," Troy nodded again. "I talk to my men and see if they have any knowledge about either of those events."

Before they could even finish their breakfasts, Troy and Moffitt had been summoned to the captain's office.

"Sir, if I may…"

"What is it Sergeant Moffitt?"

"I was just thinking Sir, no one was hurt by either prank. No damages were done either."

"Your point Sergeant?" Captain Boggs demanded.

"I was just wondering Sir, is it really that important to discover the culprit, or culprits? Both pranks have served to improve moral for most of the men. They took their minds off of the slow days we've been experiencing. As long as they stop was there really any harm done?"

"I understand what you are getting at Sergeant, but I need to have some control over the men under my command. I need to have at least the allusion of control. If these pranks continue headquarters is going to think I've lost that control." The captain paused to look out the window of his office. "You're right, they have improved moral, but they still have to stop. If you can guarantee that they will stop I will forget about investigating the pranks and let the whole matter drop."

"I'll see what I can do," Troy promised.

"What about the merchant who owned the chickens?" the captain asked.

"Moffitt can talk to him and straighten it all out," Troy answered.

"All right Troy, but I warn you, if the pranks don't stop, someone is going to the stockade."

"Yes sir," Troy answered.

"All right Sergeant, get out of here. Talk to those delinquents of yours and make sure they understand what I said. If they didn't do it, and they know who did, they had better pass the word along."

"They will sir," Troy nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Get out of here, I have work to do."

"He knows," Moffitt stated as they left the building.

"Yeah, but he won't do anything as long as it stops," Troy answered.

"The green potatoes weren't that bad," The Brit continued. "They did fit in with St. Patrick's Day. They didn't taste any different than the regular colored ones."

"Green may not have been the best color choice," Troy argued. "A lot of the guys thought they were spoiled."

"There were plenty of other food choices, they didn't have to eat them."

"You're missing the point!" Troy argued.

"Am I?" Moffitt countered. "It was just a prank. Once word got around that they tasted the same I think they were quite popular with the masses. Personally, I think they added a nice bit of color to the regular fare."

"Okay, okay," Troy chuckled, "but don't tell Hitch and Tully any of that. I need to tell them what the captain said instead."

"Deal," Moffitt answered. "I think they already feel bad about their stunt this morning. Perhaps we should make them apologize and make some sort of amends to the merchant for causing him so much trouble."

"Like what?"

"Perhaps they could build him a better chicken coop, one that makes it harder for someone to take his chickens."

Troy laughed. "I like it! I'll let them know what they'll be doing with their free time tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Why not today?"

"Today they're going to be helping the cooks get all of that green out of their pots and pans. Even the ones that aren't green. A day of scrubbing pots should make an impression on them."

Moffitt chuckled. "It should."

"Captain Boggs wants the pranks stopped; something has to make an impression."

"You could just tell them to stop," Moffitt suggested.

"I could, but what fun would that be?" Troy grinned. "Besides, I have another reason for doing it."

"And what would that be?"

"The captain already suspects them for the pranks. I don't want him blaming them if someone else takes up where they left off. You know how competitive some soldiers can be; they might try to out-do the pranks Hitch and Tully carried out."

"If they're busy they will have alibis if anything else happens."

"Yeah, I don't want to have to go back to the captain and have to make excuses for them if something else happens. I want to know where they are and what they are doing at all times."

"You can't watch them 24/7."

"I don't have to," Troy answered. "The cooks can say where they are today and the merchant can be their alibi tomorrow. We'll figure something else out if we need to keep it up."

"Their word isn't good enough?"

"Not this time," Troy answered, "I don't want any doubt if someone wants to know where they were."

"I'll help all I can then," Moffitt promised.

When the two sergeants walked into their room at the barracks the two privates were waiting for them. "We're sorry." Hitch's hurried apology was blurted out even before the door had clicked shut.

Troy hid a smile as he walked over and sat on one of the empty cots. "Before we accept any apologies maybe you had better tell us just exactly what you've done," Troy suggested.

Hitch looked at Tully and took a deep breath. "Tully and I borrowed the roosters and let them loose in the hall. We thought it would be funny when they started crowing in the morning. We were going to round them up and return them, honest, we were!"

"We believe you," Troy nodded. "But we still think that you need to apologize and offer to build the merchant a better chicken coop. Maybe one that will protect his chickens from further pranks."

"Sure Sarge, we can do that," Hitch nodded agreeably. "We'll go talk to him today. Maybe Doc can go along to translate."

"Tomorrow," Troy answered. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"Yeah." Hitch looked over at Tully before he began. "Tully didn't have anything to do with my other prank. I didn't tell him about it until after it was done."

"Go on."

"The green potatoes at lunch yesterday," Hitch spoke quickly to get it over with in a hurry. "That was me. Green for St. Patrick's Day. It was only harmless food coloring; it didn't affect the taste. It wouldn't make anyone sick or anything like that!"

"I see," Troy nodded. "I heard that the cooks were having trouble getting the color out of their pots. You wouldn't know how to do that would you?"

Hitch didn't answer right away.

"Hitch?"

"Okay Sarge," Hitch sighed. "I'll go offer to clean the pots for them."

"Tully can help you, two can work better than one."

"But Tully didn't have anything to do with it! I told you Sarge, I did that on my own!"

"I know, but humor me, I want both of you to volunteer to clean pans for the day."

"Okay Sarge, I take it you want us to do that today and build the chicken coop tomorrow?" Tully didn't seem too upset by Troy's suggestion.

"Yeah Tully, I do. Is that a problem?"

"No problem Sarge."

"And I want your word that you won't pull any more pranks for a while, the captain wants them to stop."

Both privates nodded.

"And I want you to stay around where there are lots of people."

"Why Sarge?"

"The captain wants the pranks to stop. He says if they don't he's going to take action and someone is going to end up in the stockade. If you're around other people he won't be able to blame you if something else happens."

"But we promised to stop," Hitch protested.

"I know Hitch, and I believe you, but you know how these things can take on a life of their own. I just don't want the two of you to get the blame if someone else pulls something."

"Okay Sarge," Hitch nodded. He turned to Tully with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Tully I didn't mean to drag you into this with me."

"It was my idea to borrow the roosters," Tully shrugged. "I guess I invited myself in for what it's worth."

"How long do we have to do this Sarge?"

"Until we're sure that everything has calmed down," Troy answered.

"Okay Sarge, we'll stay around people."

As the two privates left the room Hitch leaned over to whisper to Tully, "Sarge said people, he didn't say which people."


	3. Chapter 3

**Pranksters, Inc. **

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 3

"That's the last one." Hitch tossed the sponge into the water and pushed the pot away. "Do you think Sarge will be satisfied?"

Tully wiped his brow and stretched tired muscles. He surveyed the pile of pots and pans on the tables around them and shrugged. "I sure hope so. We cleaned every pot and pan on this base at least twice today." He glanced at the watch on his arm. "We'd better let the cooks know we're done before they start messing them up again making supper."

"We aren't going to have to clean all of them again are we?" Hitch moaned.

"Not if I can help it," Tully answered. "Sarge said to clean the pots and we did. Then he said to stay around people; the bar has lots of people."

Hitch brightened at Tully's suggestion. "Hey, that's right! We can hang around there until lights out."

"And tomorrow we can go see that merchant and offer to build him a better chicken pen."

Both privates dropped their sponges and removed the aprons the cooks had insisted that they wear. Spotting the head cook, they headed directly for him.

"All done," Hitch announced. "We're out of here."

"Are you sure about that?" the cook smiled at them.

"Darn sure," Tully nodded.

"Okay," the cook laughed. "To be truthful, we thought you left a while ago. I'm surprised that you stayed this long. Just to show that there are no hard feelings about the green potatoes, help yourself." The cook pointed to a platter piled high with fresh baked cookies. "Just leave some for the supper crowd."

"Thanks!" Hitch and Tully answered in unison. They each helped themselves to four cookies; enough that they could share with Troy and Moffitt.

"We should go by supply and see if they have any crates or old pallets we can tear apart and use for the chicken pen," Tully suggested.

"Yeah, we could get a head start on tomorrow's job," Hitch agreed.

Forgetting about the bar the two privates took the less crowded back alleys to the supply building. After finding an assortment of old crates and pallets that they thought would work, they stacked them in a pile before going to look for someone to give them permission to use them. The door to the supply building was locked when they checked it. They hung around for a while hoping that the supply sergeant would come back but he never did. Finally they gave up and returned to their quarters.

"Where have you two been?" Troy and Moffitt met them in the street in front of the barracks.

"We were cleaning pots and pans all day," Hitch answered.

"We were just at the mess hall and they said that you left a while ago," Troy replied angrily. "I thought I told you to stay around people."

"We went to the supply building to ask if we could have some old broken pallets and crates," Tully explained. "We figured we could use them to build the chicken pen."

"Did you get any?"

"We found some," Tully answered, "but there wasn't anybody there to give us permission to take it. We'll go back tomorrow and see if we can get permission."

"Did anyone see you over there?"

Tully and Hitch both shrugged. "I guess it's possible," Tully answered. "We weren't hiding."

"I told you to stay around people."

"Somebody probably saw us Sarge, that part of the base has lots of foot traffic." Hitch added.

Troy sighed. "Yeah, maybe."

"Oh, here." Hitch remembered the cookies he had saved for Troy and handed them to him. "The cook gave them to us for all of our hard work."

"Even though you were the one who turned his potatoes green?"

"That was just me Sarge, and he wasn't mad about it at all. He said it was kind of funny the way everybody reacted to the color. He's thinking about adding red for Christmas and orange for Thanksgiving."

"Great!" Troy groaned. "All right, I guess it's too late to worry about it now. Did you eat before you left the mess hall?"

"We thought we'd wait and eat with you and Doc," Hitch explained.

"Then let's go eat. Moffitt and I have been waiting for you and we haven't eaten yet either."

A few minutes later the four of them walked intro the mess hall. As they stood in line for their food they noticed that they seemed to be attracting an unusual amount of attention.

"What's going on?" Tully asked after catching yet another group of men watching them.

Hitch shrugged and ignored the attention.

"Are you sure you two were here all day?" Troy asked suspiciously.

"Until just before we joined you," Tully answered. "We stopped at the supply building like we said and then we went back to the barracks."

"And that's all?"

"That's all," Hitch and Tully answered together.

"Something is going on, that's for sure," Moffitt remarked. "The two of you seem to be drawing the stares of practically everyone in here."

"Maybe they're just jealous because we already sampled the cookies," Hitch suggested.

"They wouldn't know about that," Tully argued. "I don't think the cook would have told anyone about it or they would all want cookies before supper."

Hitch shrugged. "Whatever their problem is, we didn't do it. I'm not worried."

"Didn't do what?" Troy growled.

"I don't know. I don't know why they're staring at us. We didn't do anything," Hitch answered.

"I suggest we eat our meals and go back to the barracks until things calm down." Moffitt suggested. "I don't like the way the MPs are watching us."

"We didn't do anything Doc!" Tully protested.

"Maybe not," Troy answered, "but it sure looks like someone thinks you did."

"That's their problem," Hitch groaned. "Why do we have to stay in our barracks because they have the wrong idea?"

"Because they might convince the captain that they have it right and the two of you are guilty of something."

"Guilty of what?"

"I don't know and I'd rather not find out," Troy answered. "Finish eating and we'll get out of here and head back to the barracks. We can play a little matchstick poker."

Hitch looked over at Tully and shoved his plate away. "I guess I'm done."

"Eat the rest of your food," Troy ordered. "We're not running out of here, that would only convince them that we have something to hide. We'll walk out of here after you finish eating just like normal."

"Normally we wouldn't be confined to our quarters." Hitch complained.

"You could always spend the night in the stockade until I could convince the captain that you're innocent." Troy offered.

"We'll eat and go to our quarters," Tully answered, "but we didn't do anything."

"And we believe you," Moffitt hurried to assure the younger men, "but discretion seems to be the better course of action here. Give this a night to blow over and tomorrow we will get to the bottom of it."

"Maybe by then there won't be any need to do anything," Troy suggested.

"Why do we have to do anything at all?" Hitch asked. "All they are doing is watching. No one has accused us of anything yet."

"Yet," Troy repeated. "Look Hitch, this isn't a punishment, I'm just trying to avoid trouble before it finds us. Just do me a favor and go back to your quarters."

"Okay, but I still don't see why it's necessary."


	4. Chapter 4

**Pranksters, Inc.**

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 4

"Do you think we have enough wood?"

Tully glanced at the pile of wood they had stacked in the back of the jeep and nodded. "That merchant only had the six roosters we borrowed and maybe a dozen hens. I think we have plenty of wood. With the wire that Sergeant Franks gave us it should be big enough for all of his chickens and a dozen more."

"Maybe he'll get more now that he'll have a good chicken pen."

"If he does, he's going to have to build another pen by himself," Tully answered. "This is a onetime deal."

"Did you tell Sergeant Franks why we wanted the wire?"

"Nope," Tully shook his head. "He didn't ask and I didn't volunteer any information. He was going to throw it out and he didn't care why we wanted it."

"That's good," Hitch smiled. "Sergeant Franks has a room in the barracks on the same floor as us. Those roosters woke him up after working a double shift. He never got in until after three a.m. and the roosters starting crowing around five."

"Then you'd think he'd be happy to know what we plan to do with that wire," Tully grinned.

"Oh he'd probably be happy to know the chickens are penned up, but he'd probably also realize it was us who turned them loose in the first place."

Tully made a face. "Yeah, we wouldn't want that. I hear the sergeant really knows how to carry a grudge."

"So let's hope he never finds out," Hitch agreed.

"If Sarge is right, everybody on the base knows," Tully answered.

"They suspect, but I don't think any of them know for sure. Nobody has said anything to us about it yet."

"I guess we should go see that merchant and find out where he wants his new chicken coop."

The two climbed into the jeep and headed for the Arab quarter to begin their work for the day.

The saw was dull and the boards from the pallets were hardwood. Tully and Hitch were both sweating profusely by the time they had all of the pieces cut to the desired lengths. They paused for a break before beginning the actual construction of the chicken coop.

"It sure is hot out here." Hitch wiped the sweat from his forehead and reached for a canteen. He took a long drink before handing the water to Tully. Working the gum in his mouth he began to blow a rather large bubble. There was a giggle from behind them and both privates turned to see two small children watching them.

The children seemed fascinated by the pink bubble. Hitch popped it and blew another one for their amusement. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out two more pieces of his favorite flavor of gum. Holding it out, he offered it to the children.

The boy, a few years older than his sister, stepped toward the soldiers warily. When he was close enough he snatched the gum from Hitch's hand and darted back to his sister. The two examined the wrapped gum excitedly.

"You have to unwrap it," Hitch explained. Pulling another piece from his pocket he peeled the paper away and popped the gum into his mouth. "Then you have to soften it up by chewing it." He made exaggerated motions of chewing the gum. The children giggled again and followed his example. "That's it!" The children jumped back at the change in his tone.

"You're scaring them," Tully warned."

"I don't know how to explain it so that they understand," Hitch responded. "Remember that kraut I tried to teach to blow bubbles?"

"I remember," Tully nodded. "He finally got it; he just wasn't very good at it."

"Well to be fair, we were all more interested in staying alive than blowing bubbles. He would have been better if he had had more time to learn."

"I don't know about you, but I wasn't going to stick around there to teach him. We barely got out alive as it was."

Hitch nodded his agreement. Turning back to the children he managed to demonstrate his technique well enough that they managed to blow several small bubbles. They were giggling about their success when their father came out of the house. With a word to the children they scampered away. The father sat in the shade to watch the two soldiers work.

They took a short break at lunch when the merchant's wife brought food out for all three of them. While they ate their meal the merchant went around inspecting the work they had done so far. He shook the frame and paced the exterior counting his steps as he walked. His expression gave nothing away as he returned to the shade to eat his own lunch.

"Do you think it's big enough to suit him?" Hitch whispered.

Tully shrugged. "We got all of the wood and wire we could, I guess it's going to have to be."

Several hours later and the coop was almost done. Hitch held the board while Tully secured it in place. He glanced over to see the merchant smiling as they worked. "I think he's enjoying watching us sweat building this pen."

Tully glanced over and nodded. "It sure looks like it," he agreed around a mouth full of nails.

"Do you think Sarge will be satisfied with it?"

"Why not?" Tully asked. "He doesn't have to live in it."

"If he's not happy we may find ourselves camping out in it," Hitch warned.

Tully looked at their nearly finished coop and frowned. "Then maybe we should seal the cracks between the boards so sand can't get in when the door is shut."

"I'll get some tar and we can mix it with straw," Hitch offered. "Once it hardens it will keep about anything out."

"I'll finish the roof while you're gone."

"Be right back." Hitch headed for the American part of the base to see if he could get any tar. Half an hour later he was back with a bucket full of the thick, black goo. They spent the rest of the afternoon sealing the cracks between the boards and taring the roof. By supper time they were hot, dirty, and tired, but the chicken coop was finished. They proudly stood back while the old Arab merchant inspected the finished structure. They both smiled happily when he nodded his satisfaction.

Tully wiped more of the tar off of his hands and picked up the empty bucket. "I guess we can go now."

The merchant, seeing that they were preparing to leave, motioned for them to wait. He called to his wife in the house.

"What more does he want?" Hitch whispered to Tully. "He has a new pen for his troubles. All we did was borrow the roosters."

Tully shrugged. "I guess we'll find out in a couple of minutes."

Soon the merchant's wife came out carrying a basket. She handed it to her husband and went back into the house. The merchant checked the contents before holding it out toward the soldiers.

"You'd better take it," Tully whispered when Hitch hesitated to accept the offering.

"He doesn't owe us anything," Hitch answered. "We were paying our debt."

"Well Doc isn't here to explain anything to him and he might be offended if we don't accept his gift."

"Okay." Hitch smiled and nodded as he accepted the basket. "Thank you."

The merchant smiled toothlessly and nodded toward the basket. Nodding toward the pen he said something that neither private understood before shooing them away. He was still smiling so they decided that he was happy with his new pen. Taking the shooing motions as a dismissal, they gave a slight bow and hurried away. When they looked back the old man was doing another inspection of his new pen and smiling from ear to ear.

"So what's in the basket?" Tully asked as they headed toward the barracks.

"I don't know, I didn't look," Hitch admitted. "I feel kind of guilty for accepting payment for building that pen. We were supposed to be repaying him."

"Well look already, I'm kind of curious," Tully urged. "He gave it to us because he wanted to, not because we ask."

"Yeah, I guess," Hitch mumbled. Hitch pulled the cloth cover off of the basket and smiled. "Hey, he gave us some fresh eggs, real ones, not powdered. There's a loaf of fresh baked bread in here too."

"We can make an omelet," Tully suggested with a sigh.

"Or cook them over easy and dip toast in them," Hitch added.

"Real eggs," Tully sighed, "he didn't have to do that."

"Especially after we borrowed his roosters," Hitch agreed.

"We'll have to share with Sarge and Doc, they're the ones who insisted we build the chicken pen."

"Maybe we ought to give the cook a couple too," Hitch added. "I still feel guilty about him getting the blame for the green potatoes. Besides, if we share with him maybe he'll make your omelet."

"And cook yours over easy." Tully nodded in agreement.

Hitch carried the basket gingerly into the room the sergeant's shared and placed it on the table next to the beds.

"What's that?" Troy asked.

"It's a surprise," Hitch grinned. "We're having real eggs for breakfast tomorrow!"

"You were there to build a pen, not steal his eggs!" Troy growled.

"We didn't steal them!" Hitch protested. "The merchant gave them to us for building the pen."

"You were supposed to be repaying him," Moffitt frowned.

"We didn't ask for anything," Hitch answered.

"And he might have been insulted if we had refused his offering," Tully added.

Troy looked at Moffitt and frowned. "Well?"

"They may be right," the Brit answered. "It is considered rude to refuse a gift."

"All right," Troy sighed. "That must have been some pen."

"He really seemed to like it," Tully replied.

"He must have," Moffitt agreed after looking in the basket.

"We thought we could offer the cook a few in exchange for cooking ours for us," Hitch suggested. "He probably doesn't get real eggs that often either."

"And Hitch feels guilty about the potatoes," Tully added with a grin.

"They're your eggs," Troy nodded, "whatever you decide."

"We'll talk to him after supper," Hitch nodded. "How do you want yours?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Pranksters, Inc**.

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 5

Supper was a repeat of the night before. Both privates seemed to draw and undue amount of interest. Most of the looks seemed curious but some were downright angry looking. The four of them ate a hurried meal while carrying on a limited conversation in low voices. After they finished Troy and Moffitt waited uneasily while Tully and Hitch disappeared into the kitchen to talk to the cook.

The MPs arrived while the two privates were still in the kitchen. "Sergeant Troy."

Troy recognized the head MP and nodded a greeting. "Hello Collins, what can I do for you?"

"Where are your privates?"

"They're in the kitchen talking to the cook," Troy replied uneasily. "They'll be back in a minute. Why?"

"The captain wants to see all four of you right away. I have orders to escort you to his office."

"Is something wrong?"

"You'll have to ask the captain," Collins answered. "All I know is what I told you."

"We know the way."

"I have my orders Troy," Collins responded.

Troy shifted so that he was facing the kitchen so he would see Hitch and Tully the minute they walked out of the door.

"Don't try to warn them Troy."

"Warn them about what?" Troy asked. "The captain wants to see us right away, that's not that unusual."

"It is when he sends MPs to escort us," Moffitt answered before Sergeant Collins could say anything. He looked at the MP to see his reaction.

"Look, as far as I know, it just means that he wants you there yesterday. Maybe he wants to make sure you don't take the long way over there. I know he sometimes has assignments for you that are time sensitive and he needs you to leave in a hurry. This may be one of those times, I don't know."

"Anyone could have delivered that message," Moffitt argued. "We would have come right away if that's what this was."

"This doesn't have anything to do with everyone staring at us does it?" Troy asked.

The MP shook his head as he looked around. "They could be staring at you because of me."

"No, they've been doing it for the last two days," Troy answered.

"Then I don't know Troy. I guess you'll just have to ask the captain."

Troy nodded and jerked his head toward the kitchen. "Here they come."

Tully and Hitch noticed the MPs blocking all of the exits and slowed. They saw Troy and Moffitt standing with Sergeant Collins and headed that way. All eyes were on them as they approached the MPs.

"Is something wrong Sarge?"

"You tell me," Troy answered.

Tully and Hitch looked at each other and shrugged.

"Captain Boggs wants to see us right away."

"Sure Sarge. What about us? Does he want us there?" Hitch asked.

"By 'us' he means all four of us,' Troy answered.

"Oh." Hitch looked at Tully as he nodded.

"Last chance Hitch, is there anything we need to know?" Troy watched his drivers closely.

"No Sarge, not that I know of." He looked at Tully who shook his head.

"Okay. Let's go see what the captain wants." Troy nodded to Sergeant Collins to lead the way. The rest of the MPs fell in line behind the rest of Troy's men.

When they arrived Sergeant Collins stuck his head in the captain's door to announce their arrival. "Troy and his men are here Captain."

"Send them in Sergeant, have your men wait in the hall until I call you."

"Yes sir," Collins agreed. He ducked back into the hall and told his men to stand down. "You and your men can go in Troy."

Troy nodded and started to step past him.

"Good luck."

Troy paused. "Why do we need luck?"

"I don't know," Collins answered quietly, "but he's in a bad mood about something."

Troy nodded his thanks and stepped into the captain's office, followed by his men.

"Sit down," the captain ordered without looking up from the papers on his desk.

Instead of the usual two the captain had had four chairs placed in front of his desk. Troy took the first chair and nodded at the others to sit down.

"The toilet seats on the latrine were loosened and three men twisted their backs when they almost fell in. The rungs of the ladder leading up to the tanks at the showers was greased and one of my men fell while trying to fill the tanks. The hinges on the shower doors were rigged to fall off while the showers were in use. A bucket of sand was suspended above the door in the barracks, instead of dumping as I assume it was meant to, it fell, nearly hitting a soldier on the head. Someone added sand to the powdered eggs in the mess hall." The captain looked up. "We don't have enough supplies as it is, we can't afford to waste food." He looked directly at Hitch before looking back down at his papers.

"Door handles in the supply building were all covered in axle grease. Your men were seen there when the building was closed, and an open can of the same grease was found in one of your jeeps."

"Captain.." Troy began.

"I'm not done yet Sergeant," the captain growled.

"A truck was being loaded with supplies for one of our outposts when it was discovered that someone had painted the interior with tar. The boxes of supplies stuck to the floor and delayed the departure of the convoy. Private Hitchcock was seen carrying a bucket of tar this afternoon. Someone drained the oil in three trucks while they sat in the motor pool and it wasn't noticed until the motors were damaged. Need I go on Sergeant?" The captain looked up at the four men sitting in front of his desk. "You made me a promise Sergeant, and I gave you a warning."

"Sir, Hitch and Tully didn't have anything to do with any of those pranks. Tully carries axle grease for our jeeps. We always have some handy to keep the jeeps in good running condition. Hitch signed out some tar, but it was for a project I gave them for today. We can show you the project and you can see for yourself where he used the tar. As for them being seen at the supply building, they were there. They were collecting broken pallets and crates for the project I mentioned. They tried to get permission to use the wood but the building was closed so they went back this morning and got it. A lot of people have access to all of those locations sir. Did anyone actually see them doing anything suspicious?"

The captain slammed his fist down on the desk. "Are you telling me that they didn't do any of those things?"

"Yes sir," Troy nodded.

"What about the chickens and the potatoes?"

Troy looked at his men and nodded. "They did those two sir; they admitted it when we asked. But they deny doing anything else, and I believe them. I've had them making amends for those pranks for the last two days. If you check sir, I think you'll find that they have alibis for almost all of their time for the last forty-eight hours. The only time they weren't with other people was when they were sleeping."

"Sir," Moffitt began, "the pranks they pulled were not designed to hurt anyone. No one was hurt and no damage was done. Whoever is pulling these new pranks doesn't seem to care if someone gets hurt. Tully and Hitch would never do anything like that."

"Are you certain of your facts Troy?"

"I told them to make sure that they stayed around people so they couldn't be blamed if anything else happened," Troy admitted. "I was concerned that someone might try to out-do the pranks that they pulled."

The captain sighed. "All right, tell me where they were yesterday and today. I'll have the MPs check their alibis. Your men like their little pranks, but, as Sergeant Moffitt pointed out, they've never hurt anyone with their hijinks before this."

"They didn't hurt anyone this time either," Troy defended his men. "I'm telling you sir, someone else is responsible for these latest pranks."

"Give me the details so I can get it checked out."

Troy told the captain everywhere Hitch and Tully had been and when. He suggested that they take an interpreter along to talk to the old Arab about the chicken coop.

"All right Sergeant," the captain sighed. "I'll have the MPs confirm what you've told me. You and your men can wait in the hall until I hear back from the MPs."

"Thank you, sir."

"Send Sergeant Collins in and wait in the hall."

Troy rose to leave the room.

"Sergeant."

"Yes sir?"

"About witnesses, two men came forward to say they saw your men acting suspicious at the sites of several of the pranks. Do you have an explanation for that?"

"No sir," Troy shook his head. "Maybe mistaken identity?"

"I have my doubts about that Sergeant. These men said they know your men by sight."

"Without talking to them I can only make a guess Sir."

"That's not going to happen Troy, I can't tell you their names. But I can make a few guesses of my own. The thing is, unless their alibis are airtight, your men aren't off the hook."

"I understand Sir."

"We didn't do those things Captain," Hitch spoke up before Troy could stop him. "I admit, I colored the potatoes and I turned the chickens loose in the barracks, but I didn't have anything to do with those other things."

"Me neither," Tully added.

"Without a solid alibi I have to go with the witnesses," the captain answered. "For your sakes, I hope your alibis hold up."

"Let's go," Troy ordered. He stepped out into the hall and nodded at Collins. "The captain wants to see you again." Walking over to some chairs along the wall Troy prepared to wait for the MPs to verify the alibis.

Collins entered the captain's office after telling his men to watch the four men. He was only in there a few minutes before he came back out and took a few of his men and left.

"We didn't do any of those things!" Hitch protested in a whisper to Troy.

"I believe you," Troy answered.

"Thanks Sarge," Hitch answered with a worried frown. "Do you think the captain believes us?"

"I guess we'll find out," Troy answered.

Over an hour passed before Sergeant Collins returned and disappeared into the captain's office. Troy tried not to show how nervous he felt. He believed Hitch and Tully but the witnesses against them had him concerned. When Colins stepped out of the office the captain was with him.

"Sergeant Troy."

"Yes Sir?"

"I'm going to release Hitchcock and Pettigrew into your custody. No more pranks! Sergeant Colins tells me that they have been busy making it up to the people affected by their pranks. Apparently everyone involved has been satisfied with their efforts. For now I am going to take them at their word and assume that someone else is responsible for the latest incidents. Don't make me regret my decision."

"Thank you, sir, they won't."

Sergeant Collins nodded at Troy as they turned to leave. "That was a nice chicken pen they built. I can see why it took them all day to build it."

"We figured if Sarge wasn't satisfied with it we might end up sleeping in it so we made sure it was solid," Tully explained.

"You did a good job," Collins agreed.

"The owner seemed to think so," Hitch added.

"That's what he told us," Collins agreed. "He said there were no hard feelings. He plans to get more chickens, but he's going to keep the door locked from now on."

Troy chuckled as he looked at Moffitt. "Live and learn."

"It's a good thing you had good alibis for your time the last two days," Moffitt stated.

"Yeah, thanks to you and Doc," Tully answered.

"You know," Hitch began, "it felt good helping out, even if it was a punishment."

"You could always volunteer your services when you have free time," Troy grinned. "I doubt the cooks would turn down free help."

"No thanks Sarge," Hitch hurried to reply. "My hands are still wrinkled from all of that dish water." He grinned at his sergeants. "But it did feel good."

"And it paid dividends," Moffitt added.

"Yeah, those alibis were worth it."

"I was referring to the fresh cookies and real eggs."

"Yeah, those too." Hitch nodded.

"They weren't meant as punishments," Troy admitted. "I was hoping to show you that every action affects someone whether you realize it or not. I wanted you to think before you act. And I wanted you to have an alibi if something like this happened."

"That last part didn't work out quite as well as we thought," Moffitt admitted. "We didn't count on witnesses putting you at the scenes."

"We were at the supply building," Hitch admitted, "but we weren't doing anything wrong. And I guess we were at the showers and latrines too."

"And the motor pool," Tully added. "We go there all the time to work on the jeeps."

"And the barracks," Hitch continued.

"All places you go and were seen," Troy nodded. "Places you couldn't deny being. If the MPs ask around, they would probably find more people who saw you at all of those places."

"I guess," Hitch nodded. "So how are we supposed to prove we didn't do those things?"

"You stay close to people and stay out of trouble," Troy answered. "Make sure someone sees you everywhere you go."

"But won't that just make us look guilty?"

"Not if the people who see you see you doing normal stuff and not doing anything suspicious."

"That hasn't worked out so far," Tully answered.

"You're not in the stockade," Moffitt answered.

"We may as well be," Hitch grumbled. "House arrest isn't much better."

"Go back to you room and leave the door open," Troy ordered. "Moffitt and I will join you later."


	6. Chapter 6

**Pranksters, Inc. **

By: AliasCWN

Chapter 6

"It's been three days Sarge, do you think we can go out now?" Hitch moaned.

"Not yet," Troy growled. "I heard there were more pranks yesterday and you are still the prime suspects."

"But we haven't been anywhere without you and Doc! The only time we're alone is when we are in our room."

"Are you making sure that someone sees you in there?"

"We leave the door open," Tully answered. "It's like living in a fish bowl."

"Better than living in a stockade," Troy answered.

"Shall we go for breakfast?" Moffitt asked.

"We were going to shower first," Tully answered.

"Later, after we eat," Troy growled, "I'm hungry."

"Besides, we want to see if anyone stares at you at breakfast," Moffitt added.

"They stare at us every time we leave our room," Hitch answered. "Especially when the cook delivered our honest to goodness real eggs for breakfast the other day." He grinned at the memory.

"Only part of it was the eggs," Troy warned. "You were under suspicion for more of those pranks, and there were a few more yesterday."

"There were a few more minor injuries too," Moffitt added. "Nothing serious, but people are starting to get upset about them."

"The two of you are getting the blame for all of them," Troy reported.

"One little prank where no one gets hurt and you're marked for life," Hitch lamented.

"Those witnesses aren't helping change minds any," Troy warned. "That seems to be the thing that has everyone convinced that you're responsible."

"I can't figure out who would be mad enough at us to blame us for all of this," Hitch admitted. "I've tried to think of anyone but I can't."

"What about you Tully?"

"Sorry Sarge, Hitch and I talked about it but no one comes to mind."

"Okay," Troy sighed, "We'll go eat and then the two of you can come right back to your room."

Both privates groaned.

"What about showers?"

"After we eat Moffitt and I will go with you to the showers. I don't want either of you going anywhere without us just yet."

"Okay Sarge, food and then showers before we get confined to our room again," Tully agreed.

"Maybe the captain will send us out on a mission so you can get out of your room," Moffit suggested hopefully.

"I hope so," Hitch groaned, "even getting shot at is better than staying in our room all of the time. I've cleaned our room so often that everything shines. It hurts my eyes."

"You could always come over and clean our room," Moffitt suggested with a smile.

"Don't tempt me," Hitch groaned, "I might just do it."

"Any time," Moffitt answered.

"I got a new book," Tully offered before Hitch could volunteer him to help.

"I'll talk to the captain," Troy offered, "maybe he can come up with an assignment for us."

They walked to the mess hall in silence. Once again they seemed to be the most interesting people in the room.

"This is getting old," Hitch remarked as he dropped his tray on the table.

"I'm not even upset about going back to our room," Tully agreed. "Even that's better than having everyone staring at you all of the time."

"We'll head to the showers after we eat," Troy announced in a voice loud enough to be heard over the buzz of talk in the room.

Both privates nodded and began to work their way through the food on their plates.

"Don't you have some work for us to do?" Tully asked as they headed toward their room. "Maybe we could go over our jeeps or something."

"Not today," Troy answered. "I want you where I can see you."

Both privates sighed and collected clean clothes from their room while the sergeants waited in the hall.

The line at the showers was short since most of the base was at breakfast. There were seven showers lined up along one of the water tanks and seven more lined up next to the second water tank. Troy chose the closest one and made sure that the privates chose the same group of showers. He lined up behind Tully with Moffitt right behind him. When two of the showers were empty Troy had Hitch and Tully wait until two more were open. The four of them entered the showers at the same time.

Tully reached up and pulled the cord that released the water. He closed his eyes as warm water cascaded over his head and ran down his body.

"What the heck?"

Tully opened his eyes and looked down at his body. Dark blue water was pooling around his feet, turning everything it touched a lighter shade of blue.

"Hey Tully!"

"Yeah?" Tully called back.

"Is your water blue?"

"Yep," Tully answered. He held his hands out and noticed that they had turned blue too.

"I think we've all been the victim of another prank," Moffitt called from his shower.

"And I'm not amused!" Troy yelled from where he was looking at his blue skin."

The four of them wrapped towels around their waists and stepped out of the showers. The men in the other three showers from the same tank were checking out their blue skin too.

"It would appear that someone put blue coloring in the water tank," Moffitt observed.

"But we weren't the first ones to the showers," Hitch noted. "Why didn't anyone else get blue water?"

"And how would we know that?" Troy demanded as he tried to wipe the blue coloring off of his skin.

"I don't now Sarge," Hitch answered. "I was just asking."

"You don't look so bad blue Doc," Tully smirked.

"We talked about this once Tully; I am not one off your blue people from Troublesome Creek in Kentucky."

"You look like one of them," Tully replied.

"What about the two of you?" Troy asked with a sudden grin. "At least Moffitt and I have dark hair. Your hair is light, now it's blue."

"Dang!" Hitch exclaimed. "If this is what I think it is, this stuff won't wash off. We'll have to wait for it to wear off or let the sun bleach it out."

"What do you think it is?" One of the soldiers from the other showers asked.

"Laundry bluing," Hitch answered. "I used it once and this looks like the same thing, only I didn't use nearly this much."

"So you got caught in your own prank?" the soldier asked.

"What? No!" Hitch protested. "I didn't have anything to do with this. Do you think I'm stupid enough to pull a prank on my own sergeants? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

"Maybe you just want us to think that," another of the blue soldiers suggested.

"Look at Sarge," Hitch answered, "Does he look like he's amused?"

"Not really," the soldier answered.

"If we did this he'd make us regret it for the rest of the war," Tully announced. "Even we wouldn't do this to Sarge."

"Count on it," Troy growled.

"Okay, if you didn't do it, who did?" the third blue soldier asked.

"We have no idea," Tully answered for both of them. "But I hope he gets caught before Sarge takes it out on us."

The MPs arrived and Sergeant Collins tried to hide his amusement when he spotted the blue men.

"Who is responsible for this?"

All seven of the blue men shrugged.

"Okay, we'll try to find the culprit," Sergeant Collins promised.

"Don't look at us," Hitch told him. "Tully and I have been in our room for the last three days. Sarge and Doc have been with us every time we left the room."

"Is that true Sergeant?"

"It is," Troy nodded. "We've been keeping a close eye on them since the pranks are still going on."

"We may have a lead," the sergeant admitted. "We got a tip that the pranksters might be around here watching their handiwork."

"I hope you catch them," Troy answered. "Hitch and Tully won't be free of suspicion until you do."

"We'll let you know."

"Thanks," Troy answered. "Now I guess we may as well go back to the barracks since we aren't going to be able to get this color off until it wears off."

"Hitchcock, would you know anything about this? I seem to remember you pulling a stunt something like this before."

"No," Hitch answered. "I did do something like this before but I knew the guys I turned blue, and I knew they wouldn't mind."

"It seems to me that you know the guys who turned blue this time too." The MP looked at Tully and the sergeants.

"Yeah, me," Hitch answered. "And I might have turned Tully blue, and maybe myself, but I never would have turned Sarge and Doc blue, that's going too far!"

"You can say that again!" Troy declared. "If I thought for a second that he was responsible I'd haul him to the stockade myself!"

"All right," the MP decided. "You may as well get back into the shower and try to wash the blue off."

"Forget it!" One of the other soldiers declared. "I'm not getting back in there until I'm sure the water isn't blue anymore!"

"He has a point," Moffitt agreed. "Until the tank is cleaned it will just have blue water."

"Okay, get dressed and go back to your quarters."

"Tully and Hitch can wait in their room while Moffitt and I bring a couple of buckets of clean water. Maybe we can get some of it off."

"The captain is going to want to see you."

"We'll be in our room cleaning off," Troy answered.

Sure enough, they had barely finish sponging off when a messenger told them to report to the captain's office. They dressed in clean clothes and headed across the base.

"A least now they have a reason to stare at us," Hitch remarked after noticing everyone looking at them.

"Do you think the captain is going to blame us?" Tully wondered.

"We're your alibis," Troy answered. "We can tell the captain that you've been staying in your room."

"But you weren't there all of the time," Hitch protested. "Maybe he'll think we slipped out while you weren't there."

"You left your door open," Moffitt reminded them.

"Yeah, but…"

"Don't borrow trouble. If the door was open then someone can verify that you were in there. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you." Troy suggested.

The captain kept them waiting for several minutes. When he finally called them in, he ignored them while he read some papers on his desk. Hitch and Tully exchanged glances as they waited to hear the new list of offenses. When the captain finally looked up his eyes widened at the sight of the four men. "I guess the MPs weren't exaggerating, you really are blue."

"We tried to wash it off," Troy explained, "but it won't come off."

"Have you tried bleach?"

"Bleach? Where would we get bleach?"

"Try the laundry," the captain suggested. "The same place the prankster got the bluing."

"Bluing?"

"Yes, bluing," the captain confirmed. "The same thing Private Hitchcock used when he pulled a similar prank."

"It wasn't me this time Captain," Hitch objected. "I wouldn't turn Sarge and Doc blue."

"We haven't been out of our room except to eat and shower," Tully added. "Ask Sarge and Doc."

"Oh, I know," the captain nodded. "I've had the MP's keeping an eye on you too. They tell me there is no way you had the opportunity to pull this prank."

Tully and Hitch both relaxed.

"Besides, we caught the pranksters."

"You did? Who?" Hitch asked.

"Remember those witnesses who claimed to have seen you pulling all of those other pranks?"

"We don't know who reported seeing us," Tully answered. "We just know they were wrong."

"It wasn't a case of mistaken identity," the captain explained. "More like a case of misdirection."

"Sir?" Troy looked at Moffitt before looking at the captain.

"Yes sergeant, misdirection. It seems our witnesses are actually the perpetrators. Empty bluing containers were found in their room. There was no reason for them to have them. There were also traces of axle grease, and they don't work on vehicles."

"Did they deliberately try to shift the blame to Hitch and Tully or was that an accident?"

"Opportunity," the captain answered. "They knew that your men were responsible for the earlier pranks and they decided that if they pointed us in their direction, we might not look any further." The captain looked down at the papers on his desk. "They were caught near the showers where they could watch the results of their latest prank. They claimed that they heard that something was going to happen and they just wanted to be there to see it."

"Do you believe that?"

"No Sergeant, I don't. The evidence that we found points to them." The captain looked at Troy. "I don't think they counted on you and Sergeant Moffitt taking such drastic steps to keep your men under observation. Due to your diligence they had alibis for most of the pranks. And I don't think they expected the four of you to be at the showers when they released the bluing. We found a wire that released the bluing when pulled. I guess they didn't realize you were there until too late."

"Lucky for us," Troy answered.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean it was lucky for us we got caught in that prank or Hitch and Tully may have gotten the blame for this one too."

"I thought you made your own luck," the captain told Troy.

"We do," Troy nodded, "but sometimes things work out without our help."

The captain nodded. "Well, I hope you don't mind taking an assignment while you're still blue, I need you to check sector F for activity. At least it will keep you out of sight until the blue wears off."

"Actually sir," Moffitt smiled, "I believe that the sun may actually help with that. Bluing bleaches whites clean when exposed to the sun. I think it will help bleach the color out of our skin. Hitch and Tully may have to forego wearing hats if they want the blue to bleach out of their hair."

"And you know this how?"

Moffitt smiled. "I talked to someone in laundry. It seemed the likely place to get information since laundry bluing was used."

"True Sergeant," the captain agreed. "Now do you think you could get started on that assignment?"

"We'll leave in thirty minutes," Troy promised. Turning to the privates he motioned for them to leave. "Are the jeeps ready?"

"Ready Sarge," Hitch nodded. "And maybe by the time we get back everybody will have moved on and stop staring at us."

"You ought to be used to it by now," Troy grinned. As the privates hurried from the room the captain called to Troy. "Yes sir?"

"Those other two privates admitted to pulling all of the other pranks once they knew we had them."

"That's good," Troy nodded.

"It was lucky for your men that the MP's received a tip that the pranksters were going to be near the showers to watch the prank."

"Who tipped them off Captain?"

"We don't know, he didn't leave a name," the captain explained. "But his tip was right on."

"I guess the pranksters weren't as smart as they thought they were," Moffitt suggested.

"At least Hitch and Tully didn't hurt anyone with their pranks," Troy answered. "And they would never have tried to pass the blame onto someone else."

"Would you admit to pulling a prank if you were to be asked?"

"If someone came right out and asked me point blank, yes," Troy answered.

"Then I guess you really do make your own luck," the captain answered.

"Sometimes it's the only way," Troy responded.

Captain Boggs nodded, "I'll see you back here in three to four days. Hopefully the bluing will wear off by then."

"Yes sir," Troy and Moffitt turned and left the room.

"He knows," Troy whispered to Moffitt as they left the building.

"You don't think Sergeant Collins talked, do you?"

"No, I don't think he would," Troy answered with a shake of his head.

"But it certainly seemed as if the captain knew," Moffitt agreed.

"He didn't come right out and ask."

"The pranksters admitted to the pranks and Hitch and Tully are cleared once and for all. Maybe he's just glad to have it done."

"At least they're cleared until the next time," Troy nodded.

"They may hold off on pranks for a while," Moffitt suggested. "I think they may have learned something from this experience."

"I hope so," Troy sighed. "I can tell you one thing; I'm not turning myself blue again no matter how much trouble they get into."

"But blue looks good on you," Moffitt smiled. "Are you going to tell them what you did?"

"Only if they come right out and ask," Troy grinned.

"I don't think they would dare suggest it," Moffitt smiled.

Tully and Hitch were waiting by the motor pool when the sergeants arrived.

"I'm glad that's over," Hitch grinned at the others.

"Me too," Tully agreed. "I was really getting sick of the inside of that room."

"Let's head out," Troy ordered.

Troy and Moffitt headed for the jeeps.

"I guess we learned a lesson," Hitch remarked as he followed the sergeants.

"Yeah," Tully agreed.

"Next time we'll make sure that no one knows it was us," Hitch added in a low voice.

Tully shook his head as slid into his jeep.


End file.
